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Leo Tolstoy said that to have real artistic activity, the
production of something new must occur; Clive Bell said that there is a
particular kind of emotion that people feel when viewing works of visual art;
the structures presented in this montage all contain appreciable levels of
newness and provoke emotional responses to varying degrees. Structures, for me, with their grandness,
scale, purpose and position in the landscape suggest feelings of power and
strength. Many of these structures also suggest longevity and perseverance. With
each example, they present a newness, whether it be use, style of construction,
symbolism, technological advance, or human ideal. The emotional power they
provoke has just as much depth as from paintings, sculptures, and musical
scores. The grandeur and scale of architecture act as emphatic statements of
humanity’s ability to impose its will and upon nature, but also to work in
conjunction and unison with it. Though the forces of nature will ultimately
p…